


It's My Honour

by Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anyways, Awesome Pepper Potts, F/M, I love Pepper so much, Pepper Potts Feels, Somebody please help him, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is strong and amazing and why?, Why do I keep having to write him like this?, help me, my favourite, please
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:24:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain/pseuds/Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain
Summary: "I’m serious. It’s very kind of you but you know you don’t have to dance with me every time you notice that I’m feeling a bit down.”The laughter quickly faded from Pepper’s face leaving in its place a wistful sadness. “Oh Tony,” she whispered, pulling him in close and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Of course I have to.”“Pepper-“ His tone became distant and tinged with a familiar bitterness. He tried to pull away from her but she kept him there, close to her.“Of course I have to,” Pepper interrupted, unwilling to let Tony fade away from her again. “You give so much to everyone else you deserve a little peace of your own from time to time. And if dancing gives you that, Mr. Stark-“ She drew away from him for a moment only so she could make him do a small spin under her arm- “Then it is my honour to dance with you.”





	It's My Honour

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I took this from the collection of drabbles you may have read before on my account. This one much more edited, longer (And hopefully better) than the original fic. Whether you've read it before or not, enjoy!

    “Tony?”

    Pepper’s voice was gentle, soft even, as she called out his name from the doorway of his cluttered workshop. Tony paused his tinkering on the arm of his newest and much better designed (If he did say so himself) Iron Man suit, glancing up in surprise to find the CEO of Stark Industries watching him from across the room. “What do you need, Pep?” he inquired, his tone still slightly distracted as he let the screwdriver he was working with fall with a loud clatter onto the long counter in front of him. Without thinking, he then wiped his now free hand across the damp expanse of his forehead, leaving a streak of black oil in its wake. It goes without saying that his mind was elsewhere and didn’t bother to note the mess he had just created. 

    Pepper smiled at Tony in the sweet, delicate way she seemed to have reserved just for him. “Oh, nothing, really,” she began, hugging her iconic clipboard firmly to her blazer-clad chest. “It’s just… It’s starting to get late, Tony.”

    “Is it?” he asked, genuine surprise coating his words. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and ran a tense hand through his hair in a manner he was sure could only be described as distressed. God, he hadn’t realized how tired he was until now. After a long moment, his hand still clutching the back of his head, Tony opened one eye to peek over at his amazing girlfriend. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, so quietly he was certain Pepper wouldn’t be able to hear him. Yet somehow she did. 

    She smiled at him again in that damning way he couldn’t quite resist. “Hey, it’s alright.” Pepper paused, tilting her head to the side in silent consideration before hesitantly walking over to him. “I’m just a little worried. About you,” she confessed, carefully setting her clipboard down on Tony’s disorderly counter, overtop a few pieces of overdue paperwork and the designs he had created for the new suit. 

    He opened his other eye, grimacing slightly as her worried expression came into full view. Immediately he began to remove the robotic limb from his arm if only so he wouldn’t have to look at her anymore. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, Pep.” Tony stretched out his arm, relieved to no longer have the bulk of the metal weighing it down. It felt much lighter now. He then glanced down at his hands only to find them stained a greasy black from the oil he had been working with. Quickly, he clumsily wiped them off on his already worn and filthy jeans in a manner that was almost ashamed. “Sorry.”

    Pepper’s lips quivered slightly as she cautiously raised a pristinely clean, white-clad arm and rested her hand on the side of Tony’s face. She brushed a gentle thumb along his cheekbone and slowly that gorgeous smile returned, bright and radiant albeit a little bit sadder than before. “It’s alright, Tony. You know I don’t mind.” He had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about the oil that covered his clothes and his skin. That could be easily washed away. Not all of his issues were that simple. 

    “Yeah, I-I know, Pep.”

    Pepper wound her other arm along the back of his neck, her fingers just barely grazing his jaw line. “How long have you been working, Tony?” she questioned, the inquiry simple and innocent with no underlying maliciousness. 

    “I’m not sure,” he mumbled sheepishly, shaking his head as if he were trying to clear it. “What-” he broke off for a moment in order to clear his throat. “-What time is it now?”

    “It’s nearly two in the morning,” Pepper responded, careful to keep any and all impatience well away from her voice. 

    Tony released a shaky breath, turning his head to the side so he wouldn’t have to see the disapproving look that would soon blanket her features. “Er, just under twenty-two hours, I think,” he said, his right hand unconsciously raising to tap the Arc Reactor which was currently thrumming steadily in his chest. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

    “That’s alright, honey,” she assured, although her tone was undeniably sad. “When was the last time you ate?”

    He glanced back over at her and felt a wave of guilt sweep over him. He extracted his hand from Arc Reactor and moved it so that it was instead rubbing the back of his neck, fingers brushing lightly against Pepper’s wrist in the process. “I had a cup of coffee a couple hours back,” he answered, although he knew with absolute certainty that that was not the response she was looking for. 

   “No, I meant when was the last time you  _ really  _ ate?” she repeated, searching his face for any clues although she had to have already known the answer. 

    “Happy brought me down a granola bar at some point but the last time I really ate… It was with you, at dinner yesterday.” 

    Pepper might have murmured something along the likes of, “Oh sweetie,” in response but it was so quiet that Tony couldn’t really be sure. Her hand tightened around his neck and her lips pressed together in a tight, distressed smile that made him reflexively tense up. “Do you…” She paused, trying to fix her features into a more pleasant expression (Tony was absolutely sure that it was in order to calm him down a bit because, along with being extremely intelligent and beautiful, Pepper was also very, very observant). “Do you want to come upstairs and eat? I can make you something or we can go out. I’m sure we can find some fast food place that’s still open…” 

     He shook his head slowly, not wanting bother her anymore than he had already. “No, it’s okay, Pep. I’m not really that hungry, anyways,” Tony replied, nibbling distractedly at his bottom lip. It was true, he wasn’t very hungry. Typically, if he was really deep into a project he could work for hours upon hours without feeling any hunger pains gnawing away at his empty stomach. That was usually saved for later when he finally surfaced from his work, more often than not, disoriented and exhausted. At the moment, despite definitely not being consumed by the mountain of work he had waiting for him, Tony still felt as if he was. Perhaps it was only a matter of time but he would take what he could get. 

    Pepper looked as if she were going to argue the point but finally decided against it, that sad glimmer in her eyes becoming a bit clearer than it was a second ago. “Alright. But will you at least come to bed with me? We can’t have you sleep deprived, can we Mr. Stark?” she quipped, doing her best to sound upbeat. 

    “Of course not, Ms. Potts. That would be an absolute travesty,” he confirmed, his lips quirking up into a small smile. “It’s just…” Pepper’s face fell. “I have- I have so much work left to do, Pep. I’m sorry.”

    “Tony…” she whispered, and there was no denying the sorrow that coated her voice. It dripped from her words, like syrup, slow and horribly steady. “You want to tell me what this is about?”  _ Drip, drip, drip _ . Her hand, which hadn’t moved since she had first placed it there, against his cheek, adjusted itself quickly, her thumb once again rubbing soothing circles although this time they were against his temple. 

    “It’s nothing, Pepper. Really,” Tony insisted, closing his eyes at her touch. “There’s just so much I have to do and I haven’t…” He paused, sucking in a small breath, unsure of whether he wanted to tell her the truth. But she was  _ Pepper  _ and he really didn’t want to lie to her anymore. “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. So if I can’t sleep I may as well get some work done.” At those words, Pepper immediately stopped stroking his cheek and his eyes flashed open to see what had happened. And he was sure, absolutely certain, that his eyes were just filled with a fragility he couldn’t possibly hope to contain. But, just to make matters the absolute worst they could be, the oil-stained fingers on his left hand twitched ever-so-slightly, desperate to get closer to Pepper but scared that they would taint her, stain her beauty. (And, perhaps, just a tiny bit of that fear was fear of rejection. Despite Pepper trying her hardest to ensure that Tony knew her feelings well, he was still terrified that maybe, just maybe, she was fooling them both)

    Although, just like he had mentioned earlier, along with being gorgeous and absolutely brilliant Pepper was also incredibly observant. She noticed the small, distressed tremble of his fingers and immediately removed her hand from his face so that, instead, she could intertwine those said fingers with her own. “Tony,” Pepper repeated, her voice caressing his name in such a way that nearly brought him to tears. The sadness still lingered in her expression, in her tone albeit much less obvious than before. “You know I don’t mind a little dirt.” As if to prove that last statement to him, she pulled Tony closer towards her, silently urging him to wrap his arm around her waist. When he did, she beamed at him, the expression gentle and adoring. 

    “I’m going to ruin your clothes, Pep,” he grumbled, irritated by the grimines of his hands. 

    “And I said I don’t care, Tony,” she responded, her tone soft yet still undeniably determined. Suddenly her expression changed, that ravishing beam twisting into a knowing smirk. “Besides, if you don’t mind me stealing you anyway from your work for a little longer, I believe we have more important matters to attend to.”

    At that turn of phrase, Tony’s mind began to race; hundreds of meanings attaching themselves to Pepper’s last remark. Good and bad, lovely and irksome. Although the fear quickly eased itself back into his head, staining the more positive explanations like the oil stained his hands or Pepper’s white jacket.  _ She simply had more work for him to complete  _ and  _ she’s upset with him and just biding her time until she can confront him  _ were the most common qualms that started plaguing his mind. “And what would those important matters be, Ms. Potts?” Tony inquired, feigning his usual coy mannerism that he seemed to be missing these last few weeks. 

     “If I’m not mistaken,” Pepper began, no doubt noticing the apprehension and insecurities that lay behind the false coat of bravado in his tired, brown eyes. Still, her eyes twinkled with a dazzling light he had not seen in what felt like forever. “You owe me a dance, Mr. Stark.”

    There was no mistaking the relief that washed over his features in that moment. Tony’s gaze flickered downwards to where their hands were intertwined and then back up to Pepper’s lovely blue eyes. Instantly, he broke out in a wide grin, uncaring and genuine. “It would be my pleasure, Ms. Potts,” he conceded, dipping his chin slightly in what he wanted to appear as elegant acknowledgement but probably looked more like goofy bashfulness.

    The couple spun in a slow circle, swaying gracefully in time to the beat of a non-existent song. “By the way,” Tony added, letting go of her hand to wind his arm around her waist to join his other. “You should know that I find it rather disconcerting for you to use my deepest, darkest secrets against me.”

      Pepper snorted snaking her remaining arm around his neck. “And what secret would that be, Mr. Stark?” she inquired, teasing him as amusement shone in her wide, blue gaze.

      He rolled his eyes, the action exaggerated and comical enough to make her smile brighten and the sadness creep even further away from her eyes. “Don’t make me say it out loud, Pep,” Tony stage whispered, as he led her in an elegant spin.

     “Say what out loud?” Pepper responded, her tone innocent and mildly curious.

     “Cruel,” he remarked casually shaking his head disappointedly at her. “Has anyone ever informed you of how cruel you are Ms. Potts?”

     “I have no idea what you’re talking about Mr. Stark.”

     “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Tony drew her a bit closer to him, his hands pressing gently into the small of her back. He dipped his head slightly so that his lips were almost directly next to Pepper’s ear as he murmured, “You know, most people would consider it rude for you to extort my love for dance in this way.”

     “Extortion!” she exclaimed, pulling back a little so she could look into his eyes. “And how, may I ask, would I be extorting you Mr. Stark?”

     Rather than respond with his usual wit, Tony simply gazed at Pepper, trying his best not to smile at her like a lovesick fool. “You do realize I’m called a genius for a reason,” he remarked, leading her into a quick, breathtaking dip.

     “Are you now? Because, to be honest, I haven’t really noticed.”

     “Ha-ha, very funny, Pep,” Tony said drily yet completely fondly. He lifted her back up and they resumed their rhythmic swaying. “But I’m serious. It’s very kind of you but you know you don’t have to dance with me every time you notice that I’m feeling a bit down.”

     The laughter quickly faded from Pepper’s face leaving in its place a wistful sadness. “Oh Tony,” she whispered, pulling him in close and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Of course I have to.”

     “Pepper-“ His tone became distant and tinged with a familiar bitterness. He tried to pull away from her but she kept him there, close to her.

   “Of  _ course  _ I have to,” Pepper interrupted, unwilling to let Tony fade away from her again. “You give so much to everyone else you deserve a little peace of your own from time to time. And if dancing gives you that, Mr. Stark-“ She drew away from him for a moment only so she could make him do a small spin under her arm- “Then it is my honour to dance with you.”

     If Tony had been a more emotional man, he would’ve wept at the knowledge that he had someone as good and pure as Pepper in his life. At the moment, though, he simply sent her an awestruck smile and pulled her in close, once again. “What did I ever do to deserve someone as perfect as you, Ms. Potts?” he inquired, pressing his face into shoulder, breathing in her clean, fresh scent. The smell of Pepper-  _ his  _ Pepper. For she was his. And he was hers.

     “I’m not too sure, Mr. Stark. But you have me, and that’s all that matters.”

    There was a long pause where the two of them just held each other, perfectly content to in the other’s arms. Until, finally- “I love you, Pepper,” Tony murmured, his voice slightly muffled by the fabric covering her shoulder. 

    “I love you too, Tony,” Pepper responded softly, and he could practically  _ see  _ the beautiful smile that he was sure was currently curling up the corners of her lips. There was another stretched moment of silence before she tentatively asked, “Would you like to come up to bed with me?” 

     Tony raised his head from her shoulder, absolutely hating the nervous expression that tightened the gorgeous features of her face. Extracting himself from her embrace, he instead clutched both of her hands in his own and said, “That sounds like an amazing idea.”

    Still grasping each others’ hands, the two proceeded upstairs to sleep, work forgotten and, best of all, fears forgotten. And, for the first time in a very long time, Tony Stark got a good night’s sleep.


End file.
